Grognard Wargamer Thread!

[TimJames]

I’m slowly working my way into this genre. I’ve been reading commentary about wargames, especially from Bruce. I’m starting to understand some of the themes and difficult issues in the genre. Leaving aside the various problems with wargames, I’d like to know more about why people like them.

There’s one thing I hear a lot from Bruce and others: that wargamers enjoy the history behind the game. (Stop me here if I’m oversimplifying.) What does that mean? Do wargamers read for fun a lot of historical accounts of battles and cultural conflicts, and then enjoy seeing that happen in the game? That sounds like my appreciation of race sims. I understand basic vehicle dynamics, and it’s thrilling to see that play out in the sim.

Furthermore, if a wargamer were to play Korsun Pocket, for example, does he go watch a documentary on it first? Or does he simply “care” about the setting in a general sense, and then leverage that historical context into the epic and engaging moments that other games provide for us directly? One reason I ask is this archived post I found from 2003:

@Brooski

The issue will be, rather, whether you find it engaging. There is a significant amount of fiddling in these types of games [Korsun Pocket] that eventually comes down to finding a way to get two more combat factors, or one more combat shift, or whatever, into that attack on 3rd Panzer. RPG fans, at some level, have to love to see stats rise, and get a +2 weapon to replace their +1 weapon. Wargamers, at some level, have to get a kick out of seeing 1st Guards Division get the divisional integrity bonus, and seeing the von der Heydte paratroops land safely, and looking forward to the turns when the weather clears they can finally use air interdiction. Otherwise it can seem like a number-crunching exercise. For wargamers, those numbers are really little tanks scooting around, doing cool tank things.

Do wargamers get a kick out of it because the 1st Guards Division has some real-world historical significance, or von der Heydte is someone famous? Or is it merely that they grow attached to the little units in the game, kind of like the redshirts in XCOM that survive long enough to get promoted. I’ll ping Bruce if he doesn’t notice this post, but I’d love to hear other opinions too.

I’m just curious about the mechanics of wargaming’s link to history appreciation. How does it work for most people? Let me know if I’m missing an appropriate article or TMA podcast on this subject.

I’d probably come from the other direction. I really like history when I encounter it, but I’m never compelled to seek it out independent from a movie, fiction book, or game. One poster said he developed a lifelong enjoyment of history after playing some early wargames. Did that happen to anyone? If so, what was your first step? Did you go from Steel Panthers to reading eyewitness accounts in a famous division in World War II?